Who Knew Cloggin' Your Arteries Could Be This Much Fun?

...I sure didn't. Today, I visited the Texas State Fair in Dallas with some of my colleagues. The Texas State Fair personifies all that makes Texas great -- it's BIG, it's FRIED, it's nothing but fun. Every year an item is selected as the Best Taste -- Big Tex Award Winner. This year's top menu item is the Chicken Fried Bacon. So in order to make my state fair visit credible, I had to venture over where few had gone before and try me some Chicken Fried Bacon.

Can you say HEART ATTACK ON A PLATE?

I'm not kidding when I say that grease permeated the atmosphere and would soon clog my arteries. I'm not much of a fried food person and I could not stomach all 6 pieces of my Chicken Fried Bacon. If my body could talk, it was probably yelling some R-rated words at me when I put that fried goodness in my body.

To top off my experience, I rode the "scariest" ride at the Fair. I'm a little bit of a thrill seeker and don't shy away from too many roller coasters or, for that matter, challenges. So as soon as I was "challenged" to ride a ride with my boss in front of most of the office, I didn't back down.

If you are reading along and starting to put two and two together, you might be asking yourself -- "how much time did Burke give himself between consuming his Chicken Fried Bacon and riding the "scariest" ride at the Fair?" My answer "not long enough." Thankfully, I was able to keep my Chicken Fried Bacon in my stomach instead of letting everyone see it a second time, but I've never felt so bloated in my life (my apologies for the details...I just wanted you to share in my pain).

Needless to say, it was a memorable first visit to one of the largest state fairs in the country. It was big, it was pure Texas, and I loved every minute of it. Next time, I'd like to stay a little longer and try the Fried Guacamole or Fried Banana Split.

For my "Running the Race" blog readers not in the state of Texas or in Dallas, Burke and Big Tex send a Big Texas "HOWDY!!"

Big Tex stats:

Debut - State Fair 1952

Height - 52 feet

Boots - Size 70

Hat - 75 gallon

(It's true -- everything is bigger in Texas)